FSU's Cam Akers eager to hit the ground running against Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG

Not long after he found out in December that Willie Taggart would be his coach at Florida State , running back Cam Akers started to pour over University of Oregon video.

He wanted to see how Taggart utilized his backfield .

The first thing that jumped out to Akers should be of interest to No. 20 Virginia Tech, which opens its season Monday night at No. 19 FSU: All that green grass in front of former Oregon running back Royce Freeman was a thing of beauty .

“Just how spaced out a lot of things are,” said Akers regarding the running room Freeman routinely found. “How much more open field you’ve got to work with. That excites me as a running back.”

Freeman’s 1,475 yards and 16 touchdowns caught Akers’ attention, too. After running for 1,024 yards last season to set a school freshman rushing record, Akers has even loftier goals .

As has been customary for most of defensive coordinator Bud Foster’s career, Tech was stout last season against the run, ranking 12th nationally in yards given up per carry (3.36) and 15th in rushing defense (119.5 yards per game).

Of course, many who helped the Hokies boast those numbers are gone .

In addition , Tech may not have tackle Vinny Mihota at full strength . He’s still working his way back from a torn ACL and might only be available for 10-15 plays.

If Mihota can’t play more snaps, Jarrod Hewitt may get the bulk of the playing time at tackle alongside Ricky Walker. Rayshard Ashby appears to be Tech’s starter at middle linebacker, while Dylan Rivers may open up at right inside linebacker and Indian River alum Devon Hunter likely will get the start at left outside linebacker.

Despite Akers’ impressive freshman season, FSU was just 77th in the nation in rushing (155.7 yards per game). He’s confident that with four returning starters on the offensive line, and the attitude Taggart has injected in the program, the Seminoles will improve on the ground.

“Everything,” said Akers when asked what’s different about Taggart and former coach Jimbo Fisher . Taggart “does a lot of different things than we did last year.”

Tech had mixed results last season against the top runners it faced. West Virginia’s Justin Crawford gouged the Hokies for 106 yards , but Boston College’s AJ Dillon, the ACC’s top rusher, was held to 35 yards .

Georgia Tech’s KirVonte Benson had 86 yards and quarterback TaQuon Marshall had 64 yards and two touchdowns working out of the Yellow Jackets’ option offense. Miami running back Travis Homer rolled for 95 yards and a touchdown against the Hokies.

Akers, who is 5-foot-11 and 213 pounds, won’t be asked to carry the load Monday. Like Hokies coach Justin Fuente, Taggart prefers to spread the carries around.

Quarterback Deondre Francois may not churn for a lot of yards, but he is mobile. Running back Khalan Laborn, a graduate of Bishop Sullivan Catholic High in Virginia Beach, ran for 140 yards in the Seminoles’ spring game.

Francois also could hand-off to 235-pound senior Jacques Patrick for a change of pace.

Akers likes the possibility of several backs getting involved . He’s been even more pleased with how Taggart has made players take more accountability in their actions on and off the field than Fisher’s staff.

“Accountability is something coach Taggart stresses every day,” Akers said. “From the first day he came in, he knew the team had a problem with accountability, so that’s something he stressed and something he stayed on us about. We’ve gotten a lot better with holding each other accountable and doing things right.

“He’s definitely a player’s coach. You’ll see him walking around, walking through the weight room. You can go up to his office. He’s really available.”

Followed notifications

Please log in to use this feature

Welcome to the conversation.

We strive to be fair and accurate in our reporting. In turn, we ask
that you remain civil and open-minded in your responses. Comments
should be relevant to the topic at hand, factual and thoughtful.
The comments section is like a letter to the editor, not a chat
room. Please read the full commenting rules before posting.
Read the full rules here.

Watch this discussion.Stop watching this discussion.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

We strive to be fair and accurate in our reporting. In turn, we ask
that you remain civil and open-minded in your responses. Comments
should be relevant to the topic at hand, factual and thoughtful.
The comments section is like a letter to the editor, not a chat
room. Please read the full commenting rules before posting.